Checkpoints and Borders Policy Debate - TSA Let 25 Illegal Aliens Attend Flight School Owned by Illegal Alien

I wonder how Blogger Bob will spin this bit of good news. :rolleyes:

CNSNews.com) -- The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) approved flight training for 25 illegal aliens at a Boston-area flight school that was owned by yet another illegal alien, according to the Government Accountability Office.

The illegal-alien flight-school attendees included eight who had entered the country illegally and 17 who had overstayed their allowed period of admission into the United States, according to an audit by the GAO.

Six of the illegal aliens were actually able to get pilot’s licenses.

Discovery of the trouble at the flight school began when local police--not federal authorities--pulled over the owner of the school on a traffic violation and were able to determine that he was an illegal alien.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R.-Ala.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security, said he found the GAO's findings "amazing."

"We have cancer patients, Iraq War veterans and Nobel Prize winners all forced to undergo rigorous security checks before getting on an airplane," said Rogers, "and at the same time, ten years after 9/11, there are foreign nationals in the United States trained to fly just like Mohammed Atta and the other 9/11 hijackers did, and not all of them are necessarily getting a security background check."

Stephen Lord, who is the GAO's director of Homeland Security and Justice Issues, testified about the matter Wednesday in Rogers' subcommittee. Rogers asked him: "Isn't it true that, based on your report, the Transportation Security Administration cannot assure the American people that foreign terrorists are not in this country learning how to fly airplanes, yes or no?"

Lord responded: "At this time, no."

Although the illegal alien who owned the Massachusetts flight school had not undergone a required TSA security threat assessment and had not been approved for flight training by the agency, he nonetheless held two Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pilot licenses, also known as FAA certificates.

The GAO report, released today, is entitled General Aviation Security: TSA’s Process for Ensuring Foreign Flight Students Do Not Pose a Security Risk Has Weaknesses.

Way to go, TSA!

Just keep rifling people's wallets and taking baby food and grannie's diaper - "You're doing a heckuva job, Pissy!"

All in all it's just a-nother brick in the wall...

It's so unfair of the TSA to keep giving us reasons to detest them,

I wonder how Blogger Bob will spin this bit of good news. :rolleyes:


Maybe like this??

You may have read in the news a recent blurb that mentions that a very insignificant number of citizens of other countries had obtained FAA certification for piloting private aircraft.

As a result of ongoing analysis, we are relaxing the checkpoint rules on snowglobes. We partnered with collectors throughout the nation to come to an agreement which will allow some of these items to be carried aboard with you in your 3-1-1 bag.

You may also now choose whether to leave your belt on or off, though we recommend you take it off.

Perhaps if TSA had a leader these things would end.

Perhaps if TSA had a leader these things would end.

For all the times people hear, "9/11! That's why we touch your junk!" at the checkpoint, you'd think they'd remember that the flight training was a lot more relevant to 9/11 than the fact that the hijackers walked through the checkpoints with NON-PROHIBITED ITEMS...

You'd think the TSA's Obergropenführer would remember it.

For all the times people hear, "9/11! That's why we touch your junk!" at the checkpoint, you'd think they'd remember that the flight training was a lot more relevant to 9/11 than the fact that the hijackers walked through the checkpoints with NON-PROHIBITED ITEMS...

You'd think the TSA's Obergropenführer would remember it.

You can take this a step further. Keeping illegals out of the country, especially ones you already know to be dangerous, would be the first step. Yet the DOJ and DHS seem to be going out of their way to make sure border and immigration enforcement is as lax as possible. All the while ratcheting up the pressure of the general public.

The link:

Huntsville Times:
Alabama congressman 'shocked' by TSA revelation that people on no-fly list can attend flight school
Published: Thursday, July 19, 2012, 2:12 PM
Updated: Thursday, July 19, 2012, 2:28 PM (http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/07/rep_mike_rogers_shocked_by_tsa.html)

A short quote:
WASHINGTON -- An Alabama congressman told TSA officials this week he's shocked that people placed on the "No-Fly" list, a post-9/11 Transportation Security Administration initiative, can attend flight school and receive flight certificates.

Why is this surprising? People on the "Not Even Supposed to Be In This Country" list are also allowed to attend flight school - or own one... (http://cnsnews.com/news/article/tsa-let-25-illegal-aliens-attend-flight-school-owned-illegal-alien)

Rather odd especially given that one needs clearance to get a pilot's license. Seems that one would get the clearance before the lessons commence. But hey that is DHS.

I never realized that the TSA had anything to do with flight schools. Isn't that the FAA?

I never realized that the TSA had anything to do with flight schools. Isn't that the FAA?49 CFR 1552 covers flight training to non-US citizens. The applicant is supposed to be approved by the TSA before training starts, but since it is the FAA who issue student licenses there is an obvious disconnect (loophole).

The term "illegal alien" has connotations which may have caused the shocking[sic] nature of the reaction. It does not mean they are terrorists or even from Arabic nations. Oh and by the way, none of the 9/11 gang were "illegal".

Oh and by the way, none of the 9/11 gang were "illegal".

Depends on how you look at it. Last I'd heard, six or more of them were "visa overstay" status at the time 9/11 occurred - which technically makes them "illegals," I think.

From AOPA (a pilot and aircraft owner organization):

http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2012/120719flight_schools_should_not_be_security_scapeg oat.html

You can take this a step further. Keeping illegals out of the country, especially ones you already know to be dangerous, would be the first step. Yet the DOJ and DHS seem to be going out of their way to make sure border and immigration enforcement is as lax as possible. All the while ratcheting up the pressure of the general public.
There are a couple of solutions.
One comes to mind: lets re-organize government and bring the TSA and Immigration, Customs, and Border Patrol into a single department at the cabinet level, exempt them from the Administrative Procedures Act, and let them share information freely, so they can keep us safe with arbitrary and unknown security directives. We can call it DHS.

Well, now that we tried that and the situation is worse after a decade?

Maybe we should try separating these out, getting rid of DHS, letting the FBI do its job, and getting the TSA out of our pants, wallets, suitcases and letting the airlines have the responsibility and the liability for keeping their airplanes safe?

Airplanes are not that hard to fly, and its not that hard to learn to fly. Flight simulators that are reasonably realistic are readily available for less than a thousand dollars, and if you really don't care if you know how to take off or land, you need no formal flight training. There have been numerous stories about the wife who's husband died flying the complex aircraft to a safe landing, with no prior training and a voice on the cockpit radio teaching.

Just learn to keep the wings level and how to turn it left or right, climb and descend. If you don't care how smooth you are, it doesn't matter, so this is one more bit of security theater that the TSA does poorly.

But, if DHS/ICE/TSA are going to say they're going to do the job, charge us lots of tax money to do it and then don't do it, heads should roll. Promptly. The problem is they don't do what they're supposed to do and that at great expense.

There are a couple of solutions.
One comes to mind: lets re-organize government and bring the TSA and Immigration, Customs, and Border Patrol into a single department at the cabinet level, exempt them from the Administrative Procedures Act, and let them share information freely, so they can keep us safe with arbitrary and unknown security directives. We can call it DHS.

Well, now that we tried that and the situation is worse after a decade?

Maybe we should try separating these out, getting rid of DHS, letting the FBI do its job, and getting the TSA out of our pants, wallets, suitcases and letting the airlines have the responsibility and the liability for keeping their airplanes safe?



^^ x 1000

Way to go, TSA!

Just keep rifling people's wallets and taking baby food and grannie's diaper - "You're doing a heckuva job, Pissy!"

Good grief!! How did TSA found out? Why they came in USA illegally. They doesn't have a passport or documents. I believe they came from Mexico, South American, Brazil and etc. They were never becomes a pilot. They doesn't know how to trained a real pilot. They never was.